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Fruitfly Genome Sequencing

The Drosophila melanogaster genome sequencing project was essentially completed in March of 2000. Sequencing was begun using mapped large-insert clones, but completed using a whole genome shotgun (WGS) approach; it represents the first demonstration of the WGS approach to sequencing in a multicellular organism.

The D. melanogaster genome sequencing project was led by the Berkeley Drosophila Genome Project (BDGP); the WGS effort was carried out in collaboration with Celera Genomics. Subsequently, the sequence was finished to high quality, an effort carried out by the BDGP in collaboration with the Baylor College of Medicine Genome Sequencing Center. The National Human Genome Research Institute, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute supplied funding for the D. melanogaster genome project. Celera Genomics contributed the WGS reads and assemblies.

The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) subsequently supported a D. pseudoobscura genome sequencing project, undertaken by Baylor College of Medicine Genome Sequencing Center, aimed at producing 7-fold WGS coverage of the D. pseudoobscura genome. The assembled sequence, released in August 2003, will be used to compare with the D. melanogaster sequence to reveal conserved regions.